M.H. Herlong’s “Buddy” is about the ties that bind a boy to his beloved dog

Li’l T, who lives in a (barely) pre-Katrina New Orleans, wants nothing more than a dog when a (more or less) happy accident plops a black and white stray practically into his lap. With some sacrifice on Li’l T’s part, he finds a way around his family’s objection that a dog is too expensive to keep. He names the dog Buddy, and is so fiercely possessive that he attacks other youngsters who mock Buddy’s scruffy looks, and goes after his little sister when she surreptitiously gives Buddy a fashion makeover.

But then Katrina blows into town, forcing Li’l T and his family to evacuate without Buddy. Wracked by guilt, Li’l T agonizes over whether Buddy managed to survive the devastating storm. When Li’l T learns that a dog that looks like Buddy was rescued, he’s confronted with a dilemma that tests his emotional and spiritual boundaries.